A Halloween Happenstance
by Pumpkin Cider
Summary: A story set to be completed on Halloween night. Natsuki finds herself caught between two different forces. She just doesn't know it yet. AU
1. Graveyard Shift

**Brief Notes**: A story for Halloween and all that comes with it. I hope you enjoy reading this, as I quite enjoyed writing it. Most definitely a three-shot, as there's not much to tell after it's all said and done. The last piece will be uploaded on Halloween, and the second sometime in between. Point out any mistakes I made, I know I didn't catch all of them. ;)

---

At the single command of, "Take your sister trick-or-treating," Natsuki Kuga found herself booted from the warm confines of her room and into the darkness of outside, a blue hoody tossed soon after.

While the teenager grumbled and put the hoody on, a small blonde girl stepped besides her, brushing off her white dress and fixing her wired-held halo. Natsuki bent down and fixed the fluffy wings on the girl's back, the feathers soft against her fingers.

She stood up and sighed. "Ready to go Alyssa?"

The girl nodded, her eyes never leaving the brightly lit neighborhood in front of them, and grasped Natsuki's hand.

While it was cool outside, the sky remained a vast canvas of stars, void of the dominate moon and its light. The wind would stir occasionally, pushing flame colored leaves around the cracked sidewalks and street beds, and caused the small lights in many of the grinning jack-o-lanterns to flicker, but not go out. Excited laughter and even an occasional friendly scream would pierce the night air while figures of all shapes, heights, and colors strolled around in plastic, make-up, cloaks and costumes. Only a small number decided to hike it like Natsuki and wear their everyday clothes.

They stopped by any house that had a light on, Alyssa eagerly holding out her pillowcase and watching as the candy tumbled in. Natsuki did not join her on the walk to the front doors, but stayed behind, her arms crossed and her face unreadable. They went about this for several blocks, until they came upon a rather old looking house at the end of a dead end street. The yard of said house had been torn up and riddled with grave stones and skeletons. Webs covered the wooden porch, appearing and disappearing in the flickering strobe lights. There was also a bout of scary-movie sound effects scratching through a poorly hidden speaker.

Natsuki looked at the house with a bored expression on her face. Kids passed them, walking down the path to the house, only to scream when a 'monster' or 'zombie' would pop out. Realizing that Alyssa hadn't started up the path herself, Natsuki looked down and then behind her to find her sister clutching at the back of her hoody, her blue eyes wide and watery.

"You don't have to go if you're scared." Natsuki said with a raised eyebrow.

Alyssa tensed at her words and whipped her head away from taller girl. "I'm not scared."

"I'll walk up with you," Natsuki continued, an amused smirk forcing its way up the corners of her mouth. "I'll even hold your hand."

A wave of angry red spread across the blonde's face, and she stomped passed Natsuki, her shoulders square and her red face held high. Natsuki watched her go…and then watched as a spook leapt out from behind a tree in front of Alyssa, scaring the girl so bad that she screamed and dropped her candy. She bolted back behind Natsuki, a trail of feathers falling behind her. Natsuki barked out a loud laugh and started up the path herself, picking up Alyssa's fallen candy along the way. She grinned down at her little sister when they reached the front porch, and a green witch cackled at them from behind her smoldering cauldron. After a stuttered Halloween greeting, and a nudge from Natsuki, they left, a full sized candy bar in Alyssa's bag.

The pair passed people they knew, and a couple they didn't. After awhile Alyssa's bag was quite full and she charged Natsuki the task of carrying it as punishment for being such a bad sister. Natsuki took the burden in stride. They made it farther into town, near the high school and town hall, and found themselves quite alone while passing by the cemetery.

"Is that a light?" Natsuki mumbled.

"Where? What?" Alyssa replied, looking from Natsuki side (the one farthest from the cemetery) and into the darkness.

Natsuki started to edge towards the rusting fences, her eyes squinting. A faint light flickered from deep within, cutting through the trees and thick fog that incased the graveyard.

They came to the gates of the cemetery, iron and towering over them, the town name, _Fuuka_, stretched out like a banner overhead. One of the sides was open slightly and creaking in the dying wind. Natsuki set Alyssa's candy down, against one of the brick pillars that held the gate, and made her way passed and into the cemetery, her eyes never leaving the light.

"Natsuki." Alyssa hissed, not daring to go within three feet of the gate.

"I'll be a second."

"Natsuki!"

Natsuki crept further into the darkness, her footfalls crunching of the gravel path.

"There is no light…!"

Natsuki's form was swallowed by the fog.

And she shivered when the wind picked up. It swirled the fog around her and swept the leaves below her. The girl still pressed on though, guided by the flickering light that didn't seem so far off anymore. She passed by faded gravestones and mossy trees, the graveled ground already taken by weeds and grass. Her footfalls fell silent soon after, like the distant cheers of the Halloween-goers did moments before.

'I hope Alyssa stayed put." The girl thought, wrapping her hoody more tightly about herself. 'She's probably stuffing her face with candy by now…I hope.'

She came to a particularly nasty patch of trees and bushes, by which she should see no means to get by on the right or left. Still, something told her that the light rested on the other side, so she decided to fight her way through. The trees fought back and managed to nick her on the cheek, leaving a small red line.

When she stumbled out into a clearing, the most peculiar sight greeted her. She had found the source of that strange light, a small collection of candles, three in all, but with it she found a girl talking to a small purple snake. Well, at least she thought they were talking to each other. She could see the girl's lips moving in turn with the snake's tongue flicking, as odd as that might sound, but odder still was that she couldn't hear any sound—words, with the movements.

The girl, a young looking thing with brown hair that tumbled in curls and skin so pale it could rival Natsuki's own, sat in a lacy black dress on a pale blanket with an expensive looking tea set and assorted cakes around her. There was not much to say about the snake, other than its purple color and length, which was about three feet.

They were also sitting right in front of a sharp-cut gravestone, presumably on where the gravestone's owner lay buried.

How rude, was all that went through Natsuki's mind.

As if on cue the girl, and the snake, turned to look at Natsuki and she found herself under the scrutiny of two sets of scarlet eyes. A moment later, they turned back to each other. Their conversation continued with a flick of the snake's tail, and Natsuki felt irritated for some reason.

"You know that's kind of rude." She voiced out, and made her way over to the pair, stopping a few feet from them. The cakes smelled good.

The girl paused, a white tea cup inches from her pink lips, and scarlet eyes returned to her. The sight of them calmed Natsuki.

"We did not know you were aware of us."

Natsuki ignored the use of 'we/us' and instead focused on the girl's voice. It was as soft as the girl looked, and each word carried an accent—one that Natsuki hadn't ever heard before…. She rubbed the bridge of her nose absentmindedly. "What? No I mean the grave. It's rude to just…sit there and…have a picnic on somebody's grave."

The girl blinked, and then gave Natsuki a warm smile, one that the dark haired girl felt spread across her cheeks. "We know the person."

Natsuki's mouth opened and closed while one eyebrow rose and the other fell harshly.

"Besides," the girl continued with a long sigh, "we are having a lovely tea party, not a picnic."

"That still doesn't make—"

"Tell me, what is your name?"

"Natsuki. What's your—"

"Why are you all the way out here? And on such a dreadful night?"

"I saw a light and it led me here." Natsuki felt irritated again and she let it show on her face.

"I love this spot myself, so quiet and calm." The strange girl giggled and patted the blanket. "And we can't forget about you can we?"

It took Natsuki several seconds to realize that the girl was talking to whoever lay under the ground, and not to her. Still the thought sounded nice. "What's your name?"

The girl hummed and scooted over a bit (she had her back resting on the gravestone) and patted the blanket again, only this time, Natsuki was sure that it was for her and not a dead…person.

She edged over and plopped down beside girl, taking note of the cold stone pressing into her clothed back. The smell of the cakes and teas and wet grass and of the other girl herself, all mixed together suddenly, and when the purple snake flicked its thin tongue in her direction and hissed—not in warning but as a greeting—a strange buzzing started in her ears and it took sense in her head, and then came out as a single word.

"Shizuru." Natsuki whispered and the buzzing stopped, leaving a still quiet in the air. "You name is Shizuru, it is not?"

The girl, Shizuru, looked shocked, her eyes wide. The purple snake hissed, its scarlet eyes flashing in the candle light. Natsuki grinned though, happy to have one-upped the girl, no matter how confused it had made her.

It was short lived, because Shizuru turned her head towards the snake. Natsuki waited knowing that they were talking and entertained herself by sitting up and studying the stone behind her. Might as well know the name of the person she was sitting on. The stone was new and cleanly cut, Natsuki could plainly see that, but the face of it, dull and rough, had not a name, date…not even a last message or 'RIP' on it. She leaned in more and traced the small holes and gapes, the once words and numbers. A 'K'…that was all.

"Natsuki."

Natsuki jerked and turned back to the girl. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to stay and chat?"

In a graveyard, on a grave? With a complete stranger and her pet snake? With no one else around on Halloween night? Natsuki thought about saying all these things but something more important came to her mind. "My little sister is waiting for me."

"I have some delicious tea."

"I don't like tea that much."

"I have cake, many kinds. And I know you like cake."

"How?" Natsuki realized a second after that her response was proof enough. Still she needed to get back to her sister. Dad's going to kill me, she thought.

"I noticed you…'eyeballing' them earlier." Shizuru smiled, and picked up one with chocolate frosting.

Natsuki scowled for the first time and looked away, her cheeks and ears turning pink.

"Oh Natsuki, just for a little while? Then you can go back to your…sister."

Natsuki grunted and turned back. "Fine, but not because I like cake, because I don't."

"Oh?"

Natsuki knew she had said something wrong.

"Then you are staying because you like me?"

Her face, still pink, rose to a much hotter red. "No!"

Shizuru pretended to think and then pouted towards the purple snake. "Then you like Kiyohime?"

The snake preened at the attention.

Natsuki bit her tongue to keep from screaming at the other girl (and her snake). Before she could do anything however, a small plate was set in her lap, on top of it a rather thick slice of chocolate frosting cake.

….

Another minute or two wouldn't hurt.

Natsuki took a silver fork from the basket in front of her, and set about eating the cake in silence.

"Doesn't the moon look so grand tonight?" Shizuru said softly, after a couple minutes.

Natsuki pulled the fork from between her lips and looked up. The moon was indeed a sight and the dark haired girl wondered why she hadn't noticed it before. It hung low and large in the sky, craters marring its surface, its brilliance blocking out the stars.

"Not really." Natsuki put down the plate and the fork, leaving only a couple brown crumbs. "It's a big showoff, if you really want my take on it."

"My."

Natsuki flinched and stood up, suddenly wanting to be away from the other girl. A slender hand caught her wrist, and when she turned back she noticed tears rolling down the other girl's face, glimmering in the moonlight.

"Won't…won't you stay a little longer?" Shizuru's voice cracked.

Natsuki's green eyes locked onto watery scarlet and a fine quiver worked its way up her spine. She swallowed hard, and tugged her arm. Shizuru did not release it. "I.…"

"Just for a little longer, please Natsuki. It's been so long since—"

"Natsuki!"

Natsuki jerked her hand back and spun to look towards the thicket. It was her sister, calling out for her…why did her voice sound so far away?

"Natsuki, please…." Shizuru's voice sounded desperate but still so soft. Natsuki didn't dare turn to look at her though.

"Natsuki!"

"Shizuru, I have to go, my sister's looking for me."

"But…."

"It was nice meeting you. Maybe we can do this…again sometime."

A small black blur burst out of the line of trees and fell, twigs and leaves sticking in its blonde hair. Natsuki jogged over to the girl and helped her up, kneeling while she did so. She still didn't look back.

"Natsuki," Alyssa moaned, more tired than upset, "I've been looking for you forever."

"Really?" Natsuki ginned, picking the twigs from her sister's hair.

"Yes. I couldn't find you for a while, it's so dark out here!"

"Hm," Natsuki pretended to think. "Didn't I tell you to wait by the gate?"

"You were gone for hours. The Halloween party at the high school already started."

"Maybe you think I was gone hours. Waiting can do that to a person." Natsuki said. She'd been gone for fifteen minutes tops.

"But the party—"

"They might have started it early; they've done it in the pass. Nobody likes to wait, especially on Halloween." Natsuki's grin turned into a smirk. "You'd know something about that."

Alyssa puffed up her cheeks and pouted. "I had to leave my candy back at the gate because of you."

"Oh? Well you better hope that nobody stole it."

"They couldn't of—they're all at the party."

"I'm sorry." Natsuki laughed and then stood up straight. "How did you find me way out here? Saw Shizuru's candles did you?"

Alyssa tilted her head. "Light? Shizuru? No, I heard you calling back when I would call your name. I just followed your voice."

Natsuki blinked, not remembering if she responded to her sister's call or not.

"Who's Shizuru?"

Natsuki smiled at the name and turned around. "Shizuru's…. Huh, she's gone…."

"Who's gone?"

Natsuki scanned for any signs of the dress clad girl or her purple snake, but found none. Not even the wax candles remained. Then again it was quite dark, maybe she couldn't see—

"Natsuki, what are you looking for?"

Natsuki twitched, as if she wanted to go back over and investigate the gravestone, but she didn't. Instead she started to clear a path through the thicket. "Watch yourself; I cut my cheek in here earlier."

Alyssa glanced up at her cheeks. Not a scratch in sight. "I know, I just walked through, remember?"

Natsuki rolled her eyes and pulled back a low stubborn branch, motioning for her sister to pass by unhindered. The girl did so with her small nose up held high.

Natsuki took one last look at the clearing and sighed, following her little sister to the other side. Maybe some of her friends at the party will know who Shizuru is.

---

TBC

Rule #43 of Halloween: The houses with the best candy are always the scariest ones.

(Part One of Three)


	2. School Break

**Brief Notes:** I decided to release this kind of early. Also, some of you have been throwing theories in your reviews about Shizuru and Natsuki and all I can say is…you'll just have to wait and see.

And no, this isn't a horror story, so nobody will die…probably.

---

"What about my candy?"

"You're the one who didn't want to stop by the house."

"No you're the one who didn't."

"…I'll put it in my locker."

The sisters climbed the last few steps to the high school. The low drum turned into a pulsing beat when Natsuki opened the metal door, and a wave of warmth overcame them. The entryway was lit by dim orange lights and dark streamers hung over the wide hallways and across the walls. Decorated signs taped everywhere wished the readers a 'Happy Halloween' and pointed towards the gym, where the noise and laughter was coming from.

"Go and stay in the gym." Natsuki held up Alyssa's lumpy candy bag. "I'll go put this away now."

Alyssa glanced at the dark hallway Natsuki motioned to and nodded her head. She didn't need to be told twice.

When Alyssa's steps faded into the party music, Natsuki began down the dark hallway from before. The dim light reflected off the locker's edges and tilted floors, but after a couple steps Natsuki found herself in complete darkness. The music fell into a dull beat and her steps created the loudest sounds in the empty hallway. She pasted by glass displays and the freshmen science classrooms, taking a sharp right and climbing the staircase that rested there. Her locker, '238' sat only a couple feet away, on the opposite wall of the stairway. Posters and pictures covered the surface and it was kept shut by a large foil-blue combination lock.

Natsuki set the candy down and opened the lock with a small click. She had to shove a bit, but the candy fit, squished comfortably at the top next to her beat-up calculus book.

Satisfied, the dark haired girl turned to take the same path down as she did up. When she passed the glass cases, her ears picked up on a faint sound. Her feet slowed until they eventually stopped and Natsuki strained her ears, trying to separate the odd sound from the distant party music. Was there even a sound to separate? Her feet began to backtrack slowly, and if Natsuki had been paying attention she'd know that she was drifting towards the oldest part of the school, once something else but now the music rooms and hallways.

What is that? Natsuki thought, turning around completely. It was much darker in the old parts of the school, her eyes hadn't adjusted yet.

The sound grew and filtered into her head as a wonderful tune, something Natsuki knew she'd heard somewhere before…or maybe it was the sound that she had heard before and not the tune.

She came to an intersection, the once center of the old school. A soda machine hummed to her left, and gave the area a small glow, enough for Natsuki to see the music posters on the chalky walls. And it was there that Natsuki figured out what the sound was: a piano.

"A piano…."

"_Natsuki_!"

Natsuki jumped around, and found several people jogging towards her, each one of them using the screens of their cell phones for guidance. She blinked when they came closer, the tunes of the piano all but forgotten.

"Mai...Nao? And Chie?" Natsuki looked at each of her friends all covered in their Halloween getups. A witch, a pirate…and Chie was….

"Chie what are you?"

Chie flicked her black bangs back and smiled, showing a set of plastic fangs.

Oh. Natsuki grunted. The tuxedo had thrown her off. She shoved her hands in her pockets. "How original. You do know those are glowing right?"

This sent Nao into a fit of laughter, the fake parrot resting on her shoulder flapping back and forth with her convulsions. She calmed enough to spit out a, "That's what I told her at the Halloween shop!" before falling into a new fit.

Chie sighed dramatically and gave Nao a hard jab to the side. "It doesn't matter, they were cheap." She held up her cell phone to her mouth and grinned. "And besides, as long as I stay in the light, nobody'll know."

"Natsuki," Mai said, grabbing to girl's arm while glancing around, towards the dark hallways. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"The party, where else." Nao sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Man, Alyssa was right. You feeling alright?"

"What did she—"

"Nothing." Mai shot Nao a glare. "Just that you were taking awhile to get back, and that she was worried."

Natsuki blinked. "Yeah…but you guys know my locker's on the second floor."

Nao flipped up her eye patch and took a mock-look around. "Well, the second floor sure looks different in the dark."

"…."

Chie shuffled her feet and checked the time on her phone. "Mm, I'd love to stay and chat, but Aoi can't wait." She began to stroll back towards the party.

"She'll never like you if you keep going on with other girls." Nao called out and followed her, turning only to motion for Mai and Natsuki to follow.

Natsuki moved, but Mai pulled her back. "Natsuki…."

"Hm?"

"Is…everything alright with you?"

Natsuki looked away. "More walking, less talking."

"I'm serious."

"So am I. I want to see Chie get burned."

"Natsuki, Alyssa told us—"

"Told you what?" Natsuki's body went rigid.

Mai bit her lip. "Just that you've been acting sort of weird…and that you wandered into the graveyard earlier…."

Natsuki sighed. "I saw someone out there and went to investigate."

"Alyssa said—"

"Alyssa shouldn't be saying anything. It's my business." Natsuki jerked her arm free and stalked off.

Mai's shoulders slumped. Natsuki? She took after her friend. "Natsuki why—"

"Drop it Mai."

"You left your nine years old sister alone at night—"

"Drop it."

"For a…a stranger in the middle of the dark, Natsuki you could have been hurt—could have gotten your sister hurt!"

"I'm warning you Mai—,"

"And now you act like this. For what? Natsuki what—"

"Shut up!" Natsuki's voice bounced off the lockers and walls, stunning Mai into silence.

"Natsuki…."

Natsuki stopped and turned away from her, running a shaky hand through her hair. She exhaled through her nose. "Mai just, leave it alone, please? Alyssa fine, I'm fine."

Mai narrowed her eyes. "You ignored us earlier."

Natsuki froze. "What do you mean?"

Mai adjusted her pointy hat and nudged Natsuki with her hand, making the girl face her. She faulted when she saw Natsuki's face, but went on a second later. "You…earlier, by the trophy cases. We called your name several times, but all you did was back up, further down the old hallways and…then we couldn't see you, because of the darkness." Mai paused and smiled weakly. "You had this look on your face, like you weren't really there, like you didn't recognize us."

Natsuki clenched her hands into fists. She didn't remember hearing Mai until the old intersection. She remembered hearing only—

"—a piano."

"What—"

"A piano. I heard a piano playing." Natsuki said quickly, wiping her hands on her jeans. "I...must have not heard you over the piano."

"We shouted pretty loudly Natsuki. Nao even insulted you."

"…."

"Plus, why would someone be down in the music halls? They always keep those locked up after school hours, more so than the newer parts."

"I don't know. I just heard what I heard, okay?"

Mai's shoulders slumped. "Let's…just drop this for now and have a good time, alright? We'll talk about this sometime tomorrow, or maybe later next week."

Natsuki grunted, never wanting to talk about it again, and nodded. Then she remembered something. "Hey, Mai."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know…? Have you heard…?" Mai waited and Natsuki shook her head. "Never mind."

Mai's mouth twitched into a frown, but she didn't say anything. She tugged at Natsuki's sleeve and the two made their way into the gym.

Natsuki was assaulted by a mix of lights, music and smells. A middle aged man in a skeleton outfit sang from the stage set up over by the far wall, his moldy band keeping an earsplitting rhythm. Never fond of people and small spaces, Natsuki inched her way along the matted wall and towards the food tables while Mai headed a different direction. There, she found Alyssa munching on a greasy slice of cheese pizza.

Natsuki snatched the other slice Alyssa had resting on her paper plate and leaned down. "Never tell anyone my business again." She took a large bite, savoring the taste and heat, and didn't spare her sister another glance.

"Natsuki!" Nao strolled up, a thin smirk on her face. "Took you long enough. Done sulking in the dark are you?" She ruffled Alyssa's hair. "Hey kid."

Natsuki narrowed her eyes. "Nao."

"What?" Nao was busy scooping out some punch, while trying to avoid the small eyeballs that floated about in it. She didn't sound concerned.

"You know more kids than me at this school."

Nao set the cup on the table and began to pick brightly colored candy from the different blows around the table, shoving them into her pockets. "I wouldn't say that, you just don't pay as much attention."

"So you'd say you know…most of the kids who go here."

"The ones who are worth knowing, yeah. If you're looking for dirt, why you asking me?"

Natsuki swallowed the last of the pizza. "Not dirt, just a little info."

"Who? You usually don't give a rat's ass who walks these halls."

Natsuki crossed her arms. A cold feeling swept over her then, like mentioning the strange girl from the graveyard would cause the school to catch fire or collapse, or the girl would appear, clad in that black dress and armed with those intense scarlet eyes. "…Shizuru. Her name is Shizuru."

Nao hummed, pulling out her cell phone and started pressing the buttons at a high pace. "Just Shizuru? Does she have a last name?"

"No."

"No she doesn't, or no you don't know what it is."

Natsuki shot Nao a dry look and fiddled with her hoody sleeves. "She never gave me a last name."

Nao scrolled through her list of contacts, a frown sagging into her face. "Sorry, don't know any Shizurus, never even heard that name before." Nao flipped her phone shut. "Are you sure that was her name."

"Yeah." Natsuki sighed, feeling a bit depressed at the news.

"Maybe you should ask—ack, heads up Takeda alert."

Natsuki twitched. "Where?"

"Coming this way." Nao narrowed her eyes at the scarecrow bounding towards them, or rather towards Natsuki.

Natsuki turned. The first rule of avoiding someone was pretending like you didn't know they were there, and Natsuki wanted nothing more than to avoid her stalker since the second grade. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

Nao nodded but snickered while she did so.

The gym door shut with an echoing thud behind her, and Natsuki found herself in darkness once again. She walked slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness and listening for any doors opening from behind.

Or a piano.

A couple minutes past and she rounded the same corner, by the glass displays, where she'd first heard the music and a bubble of curiosity began to fester in her head. Had she really heard a piano playing? Natsuki chewed her lower lip and glanced down the hallway towards the gym and to the hallway behind her and began tiptoeing her way towards the music halls.

There it was, the sound of the piano, although this time it was playing a different, faster piece. Natsuki followed the music to a warped wooden door at the end of hallway. A massive handle clung to the aged wood, a cold silver in color, and Natsuki twisted it, grunting when the door didn't budge. She pushed her shoulder against the door, adding all her weight, and then fell as the door groaned and swung forward. The music stopped and the smell of fresh tea and burning wax greeted her.

"Oh Natsuki," a soft voice called. "I was hoping you would join us."

"Shizuru." Natsuki mumbled from the floor. She picked herself up a moment later and closed the door, shutting it with a loud clunk. "I should've known."

The room was small and lit by the moonlight filtering in through the clear window glass and the small candle decorating the shiny black piano. The tables pushed up against the walls glowed a rich brown-red color, and the wooden floorboards underneath made not one sound as Natsuki walked across them. The purple snake, Kiyohime, nodded towards Natsuki from its perch on the small bookshelf near Shizuru, and Natsuki found herself nodding back.

Shizuru smiled and set her fingers back on the piano, still in her black dress. "I'm afraid I did not bring any cake with me this time."

"This time?" Natsuki stalked up to her. "It's been, like an hour since that…thing in the graveyard."

"Natsuki shouldn't sulk."

"I'm not—"

A loud bark sounded in the room, and a grey ball of fur launched itself at Natsuki, startling her into stumbling back. "What the Hell?"

Shizuru laughed, but did not stop playing. "Natsuki's remembers Duran, does she not? He certainly remembers Natsuki."

Duran? Natsuki grabbed the fuzz ball held it at arm's length. Her face brightened when a pair of glacier-blue eyes stared back. The buzz ball was in fact a husky puppy, and a rather excited one at that. It wiggled in Natsuki's hold until the girl released it, only to bound up and start licking her face. Natsuki laughed and fought back, pushing the dark grey muzzle away, unaware of the scarlet eyes on her.

"Would Natsuki like some tea after she is done playing with Duran?"

Natsuki stopped laughing and set Duran down, where he followed Natsuki with his eyes, his tail wagging. "I don't like tea."

"Ah, yes, you mentioned that before, and I'm quite inclined to disagree."

Natsuki huffed. "Shizuru be serious."

"I am serious." Shizuru played a more complicated section. "I am always serious."

"Then who are you, really?"

"Natsuki answered that question herself. I am Shizuru."

"Where did you come from?"

Shizuru missed a key, and this did not go unnoticed by any of the room's occupants. She continued like nothing had happened. "Natsuki should know by now."

Natsuki clenched her teeth. "Should I? Really? I've never met you before Shizuru and frankly, with the way things have been going, I don't think I ever want to again."

"Then why is Natsuki here?" Shizuru was smiling.

"Because I heard the damn piano."

"Natsuki should not sound so angry."

"Then tell me who you are!"

"Natsuki knows who I am."

"Tell me your last name."

"Natsuki knows my last name."

"Tell me where you come from then."

"Oh my, again? Natsuki already knows that as well."

"Why are you here!?"

Shizuru sighed and lifted her fingers from the keys. "Natsuki should know the answer to that, more so than anything else."

Natsuki fumed in a hot confusion, unable to make sense of anything that Shizuru was talking about. Who was Shizuru and what did she want with her?

Shizuru reached over and touched Natsuki's cheek, leaving warm, pink sensation along the flesh. Natsuki smacked the hand away, unable to handle Shizuru touching her in any way. "Please Natsuki, wont you sit with me for a moment?"

Natsuki did so, without complaint.

Shizuru began to play again, slow and soft. Natsuki watched the slim fingers in the candle light with a dazed sort of detachment and reached down once or twice to scratch Duran's furry head. Shizuru was very good.

"_Natsuki._"

Natsuki sat up straight. A confused and sleepy look on her face, like something loud had just woken her. "Wha…?"

"Natsuki, Natsuki, were you not paying attention?" Shizuru smiled, her eyes closed. "I am glad that some things do not ever change." The candles flickered, like an unfelt wind swept through the room.

"Things do change Shizuru; nobody ever stays the same, not completely anyways." Natsuki barked out and then started to cough, a sharp heat in her throat. Tears stung at her eyes and the buzz from the graveyard was back, although this time pounding in her head and not in her ears.

"_Natsuki?_"

Natsuki heard a hiss and it did not sound like it came from Kiyohime. Still the pain in her throat continued and her head suddenly felt like it was splitting apart. "Shizuru?"

A soft touch met her back, and began to rub softly. "It's a bit too late for tea now."

Natsuki wanted to tell her that tea wasn't really the issue at the time, and when she couldn't feel her hand anymore, she wanted to tell her to put it back.

"Maybe next time, Natsuki."

A great sound filled the room, like a fire—hot and unforgiving—suddenly roared to life around Natsuki. The dark haired girl remained blind, but when the sounds dispersed, she couldn't feel Shizuru beside her, or smell her tea. She could no longer feel Duran nuzzling her pant legs or hear Kiyohime snoring softly.

She sat a moment later, dazed and without a single thought in her head.

And that is how her friends found her, dazed and confused, sitting in the oldest room of the high school, in complete darkness. Not even the parking lot lights from outside pierced the greasy glass of the windows. Torn and crumpled music sheet lay scattered across the room, a thick layer of dust over them, and the only parts that weren't dusty were right in the doorway and there, it looked like someone had fallen.

Natsuki's friends crept in, their steps causing the wood to moan underneath. Their footprints in the dust met with Natsuki's own and Mai was the first to reach the girl. She laid a hand on the dark haired girl's shoulder.

"Natsuki?"

Natsuki closed her eyes and slapped her hand on the piano keys, not at all shocked when only two of the keys she hit came back with a sound, and the sound was out-of-tune and rough.

She covered the keys, unmindful of the fingerprints that remained, and followed her friends out, never giving the room a second thought or glance.

---

TBC

Meh, it came out a bit longer than planned. Probably my least favorite of the three. You all can expect the last part Halloween night…maybe. ;)

Note: Does anyone else think schools are really creepy at night? I know I'm a big chicken when it comes to those kinds of things but….

(Part two of three)


	3. This and That

**Brief Notes: **Yeah I'm a bit late with this. Life came up and I had no time to finish this before, or during Halloween.. :P Sorry about that—err this. Point out any mistakes ya'll find.

This chapter also deviated from the plans I had for it (Not that any of you would know what those plans were.). Strangely enough, I still liked how it turned out. -_- It's great when the characters tell the author how the story should go. xD Less work for the author.

Happy (late) Halloween!

---

Shortly after the school Halloween party ended, Natsuki found herself being dragged into Mai's jeep. Chie volunteered to take Alyssa home, much to the awe of Aoi, who decided to accompany them. Nao, while making gagging noises, hopped in with Mai and Natsuki.

"How is going to Kanzaki's going to help?"

"You need to relax Natsuki." Mai said, clearly going ten miles over the speed limit. "And Reito's party is the place to do it."

Natsuki groaned while rubbing her eyes. "We just came from a party."

Nao leaned forward from the back seat, a grin splitting the sides of her face. "Yeah, a party with adults and kids, and no alcohol. Christ Natsuki, this is what you need, with all that weird crap you've been doing."

"I haven't been doing anything weird." Natsuki's voice went up a notch. "And what does going to Kanzaki's party have to do about anything? I want to sleep."

Nao waved her hand. "You can sleep tomorrow. The rest of tonight is going to be about real partying…and watching Mai act like a fool in front of Kanzaki." Nao cackled afterwards, dodging the blind fist Mai swung in her direction.

"Nao I swear to—if I wasn't driving right now."

Nao rolled her eyes, still grinning. "Besides, this is our last Halloween of high school. We have to make it memorable."

"By getting wasted?"

"Natsuki, Natsuki—"

"Don't do that."

"—it is our sworn duty to have as much fun as possible, and the only way we can achieve that is through consuming large amounts of alcohol and making fools of, everyone else. We have a tradition to uphold."

Mai turned a sharp right, causing Nao to jerk against the seats. "Twenty bucks Nao passes out first."

Nao rubbed her head and glared at Mai. "I'll have you know—"

"Deal."

And Nao watched as Mai and Natsuki shook hands, smirks darkening their faces.

"…I hate you guys."

Natsuki laughed and turned the radio on, sighing when the car filled with pop and rock. Mai rolled down the windows and honked to the other teenagers heading to Reito's manor, and got similar responses; some even yelled out of their windows and flashed their headlights.

Wow, was all that went through Natsuki's mind as the car passed through tall iron gates. Natsuki had never seen Reito Kanzaki's house—mansion, before, only heard about it in passing. Mai sometimes talked about too, but words did not do the place justice.

It sat on a high hill, rumored the highest in Fuuka, looming over the steep driveway up. The mansion looked old with its numerous arched windows and small, spiky gates boarding every roof flat. It stood three stories tall and massive, covered in old maroon wood and grey stones. Lights flickered in the windows, and even though Natsuki knew they were just party goers, their shadowy figures caused a hot chill to crawl up her spine.

"Damn! I heard it was big, not the size of a small country!" Nao said, gaping.

Natsuki mumbled in agreement, but didn't take her eyes off the stone gargoyles crouching over the roofs and side columns, sneering at them.

The dark haired teenager managed to get one foot on the ground before her arm was yanked by Nao, towards the entrance.

"Wait for me!"

"Can't. " Nao called back to Mai, who was still getting out of the vehicle, "We have to get wasted before Chie gets here."

Natsuki let herself be pulled into the middle of the party, and was then surrounded by noise, the smell of beer, and the light of the massive glass chandelier hanging two floors overhead. Despite the lights and colorful costumes, the interior of the house was much like the outside: dark and old.

"Hell yeah, that's what I need!" Natsuki heard Nao exclaim, and watched the redhead bound up the maroon carpeted staircase. What she had seen, Natsuki did not know. All that she could see on both of the staircases were drunken teenagers and even a couple adults. She wandered off towards one of the side hallways—with less people—and decided to look for Mai.

And got completely lost because of it.

Natsuki passed statues and paintings, glass vases and suits of rusted armor, all on plush maroon carpets. She went up and down at least five staircases, and by the time she came upon a grand circular opening with marble flooring, she was groaning in frustration. What a night.

"The party isn't here, you know." A deep voice called out, and it echoed in the opening.

Natsuki turned only her head and grunted. Straight black hair and an equally black suit, tall and thin, and with an ugly, crooked smile.

Reito Kanzaki.

"Really?" Natsuki replied, motioning to the empty hall. "I hadn't noticed."

Reito rubbed his chin and adopted a quizzical look. "Then what are you doing way over here?"

Natsuki stared at him, a blank look on her face.

"My family's gallery."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

Reito sighed and spread both of his hands in front of him. "Look about you."

Natsuki did so. Tens of paintings hung against the walls, their golden frames glittering. All of them had dark smirks on their faces, matching the dark looks in their eyes. The dark haired girl turned around, behind her, to the one she hadn't seen, and was met by a pair of familiar scarlet eyes. The girl from the graveyard and the old music room was looking back at her, her image trapped in time by dark paints and faded paper.

Reito spoke, his voice like one who didn't want to wake a sleeping child. "That is Shizuru Viola."

Natsuki's eyes stayed on the girl, posed in the painting, wearing the same black dress. A silver pendant hung from her neck.

"They say she was a witch."

Natsuki snapped her eyes away from the colors. "What?"

Reito smirked, and it matched all of those around them, including Shizuru's.

Natsuki wanted to punch him in the face and for an instant…she could have sworn she had seen gold flicker in his eyes. She unconsciously rubbed her eyes again.

"She was not. Though, they had the audacity to try her for it."

A thought came to Natsuki then, set off by the tone in Reito's voice. "Does that make you, a witch?"

Reito's smirk fell and he narrowed his eyes. "Even if Shizuru Viola had been a witch, it would not have shamed my family. She married in, not out."

Natsuki turned back to the painting, wondering why that statement made her so angry. And why wasn't he calling her Shizuru Kanzaki?

"Besides," the smile was back, "they found the real witch a couple weeks after she married."

Natsuki's eyes locked back onto the silver pendant, contrasting with Shizuru Viola's smooth skin.

"And they burned her alive."

"…why? There is no such thing as a witch."

Reito rolled his head, cracking it in the process and smiled. "She tried to tarnish the family—blame her witchcraft on the family—whether real or not." Reito paused and then shrugged his shoulders. "It was even said that they found her trying to attack Shizuru Viola."

Reito's back hit the ground, his head slamming into the hard marble. His nose pounded in pain.

"Take that back." Natsuki had her reddened hands on his neck, watching the golden specks in his black eyes.

The dark smirks surrounded them, and Natsuki tightened her hold.

"Kuga?" Reito grunted and clawed at Natsuki's hands and he flailed his legs as he did so. Natsuki's grip was firm, but her arms shook with every second that passed.

"Get off him!"

Mai crashed into Natsuki, successfully freeing Reito from the girl's grasp. The boy gasped for air and started to cough, massaging his neck afterward. Mai helped him up, and when the two looked over to where Natsuki should have been, they weren't all that surprised not find her there.

Natsuki had left seconds before, confusion and anger burning in her lungs and making her eyes water. A sick heat had settled in her chest, blocking out the noise of her footsteps and of her own heavy breathing. She stumbled into a heavy door, at the end of the hallway and, without thought, opened it and fell, right onto a familiar, soft lap.

"My poor Natsuki."

Natsuki felt something begin to shift inside her.

"You understand now, don't you?"

Natsuki closed her eyes, she was so tired. "No, I don't…understand anything right now."

Soft fingers began to graze through her hair and Natsuki opened her eyes when a soft breeze blew across her face. They were in a grassy, flower spotted field and the blue, cloudless sky hung above them. Natsuki shifted into a more comfortable position, and it was then that the dark haired girl noticed that she could only feel Shizuru; the grass didn't prickle her skin, and the air around them was far too chilly to be from the warm day that greeted her eyes.

And when green met scarlet, Natsuki understood why.

"This isn't real," she muttered. "None of this is real."

"It is real. You remember, don't you?"

Natsuki pushed against the arms holding her down and stood up. She didn't look at the brown haired girl or her sad eyes, but at her jeans—her clothes. Not a blade of grass anywhere.

A dark feeling settled inside of Natsuki and she turned to where she had fallen through the door. Shizuru called her, but she ignored it and instead held out her hands. She began to walk, slowly, and only stopped when her hands came upon something hard and unseen, blocking her pathway. She pushed, and while it didn't give way, the smooth wooden texture pushing back against her hands told Natsuki everything she needed to know. She turned back to Shizuru. Shizuru Viola.

"So I was seeing things."

Shizuru met her stare with one of her own and smiled. "It was nothing you had not already seen before. Although, the grave was a bit later."

Natsuki gritted her teeth and looked to the side. After a brief pause she looked the other way. "Your name is Shizuru, Viola."

Shizuru nodded, her smile twisting into the smirk from the gallery. "You didn't remember that."

"Kanzaki—Reito told me." Natsuki leaned back against the unseen door. "He said you were accused of being a witch, way back."

Something flashed in Shizuru's eyes, but Natsuki had neither the means nor understanding to interrupt it.

"Where is the silver pendent?"

"Excuse me?"

"The pendent," Natsuki jerked her thumb behind her. "You had it on in the painting of you. In the gallery."

Shizuru's smirk widened. "That painting was completed a very long time ago."

"I figured as much. How long."

"A while."

Natsuki pushed herself from the door and took a few steps forward. "A couple generations ago maybe? Like when they burned people at the stake for false accusations?"

Shizuru jumped up, a ripple washing across the sky as she did so. "That wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault?" Natsuki tore through the grass, her footsteps echoing as she did so. "That your sick games are coming back on you?"

"…Natsuki should stop now, it's obvious that she isn't thinking clearly."

"Why? What are you going to do about it? Curse me?" Natsuki threw out her arms, and one of her hands went right through a passing butterfly, turning it into a puff of smoke. "Fitting for someone like you."

The scenery around them began to melt, the images distorting. Natsuki went on though, her eyes as misty as Shizuru's, and just as bright with rage.

"What are you going to do Shizuru?" The dark haired girl's voice cracked, and at the same time the colors did around them, turning into a town not unlike Fuuka. And when the wooden homes and brick mansions became crisp and clear, everything caught with a red haze of fire. The air around the two girls remained cool though and soon dark whispers began to surround them. Natsuki felt something click inside her head, soothing the pounding that had plagued her since the graveyard encounter. It did nothing to sooth the pain in her heart however, and it continued to pump a numbing pain throughout her body.

"Natsuki...I…."

Natsuki let the waves inside her crash around, again and again, and when the first torch, burning brighter than the fire around her, hit the dark sky, Natsuki let it, and waited for them to come. Just like they had done last time.

"I was just your toy."Natsuki said, her eyes never leaving Shizuru's own. "Even now."

Shizuru clenched her fists and the dark images around them pulsed, but did not go away. "I…I never meant for things to turn out the way they did. I—"

"How dare you show up and try to manipulate me, Shizuru Viola." A great howl broke the angry silence and a great, grey wolf stumbled to Natsuki's right. Dark, red blood dripped off his matted fur and he finally collapsed, his blood pooling against the pebbled cobblestones. He tried to get up, but couldn't, and with a whimper fell still. "You even went so far as to con Duran's soul into this life. Tell me, did you put him in one of those stitched dolls you were so fond of?"

Shizuru squared her shoulders, but her voice shook. "I never did anything to Duran. He came back because he wanted to."

Natsuki tilted her head to the side and smirked. "Oh? That alone astonishes me…if I could ever hope to believe it."

"Natsuki, please, I never had anything to do with—"

"You even tried to get me away from my friends, from my family—things that I treasure very much. You knew that though—didn't you? You knew everything back then." Natsuki spread her arms wide and laughed. "Even now you tried to do so. My, the years haven't changed you one bit." Natsuki's smirk morphed into a snarl. "You're still the same greedy, manipulative little—"

A loud shriek cut through the air and the two watched as a parade of shadowy men and women, came marching through, torches and weapons in their hands. Behind them came a smirking man with glittering yellow eyes, and behind him came a large man who was dragging a woman behind him. The woman covered in dirt and blood and bruises, didn't utter a single sound. She just gazed back in the direction she had been dragged from, a sad look on her face.

"Hey," Natsuki said. "I remember that. Don't you Shizuru?"

Shizuru wasn't looking. She kept her gaze to the side and kept as quiet as the beaten woman.

"This part is still hazy. " Natsuki sighed. "But I do remember what happens next. Tell me Shizuru, how about you and me go watch? We'll call it a date and have a roaring good time."

Shizuru opened and closed her hands and when Natsuki shrugged and began to make her way towards the screams and cheers, the image shattered and Natsuki almost crashed into the mansion's brick wall.

"That would have hurt…." Natsuki said, facing the girl. The dark sky covered them and the chirping crickets provided a gentle lull in the background.

"Natsuki needs to know, I've waited so long to—"

"I know who you are, Shizuru Viola." Natsuki said, but unlike before, it didn't carry the same heated rage; just the calm voice of someone who remembered something that had happened once upon a time, to a different them, in a different time. "I know what you are…back then, you never told me you could live this long."

Shizuru visibly relaxed and let the tears fall. "I didn't." She reached into a hidden pocket of her dress and pulled out a shining chain, upon which a silver pendant hung. "Metal can do many things." She let her fingers run over its smooth surface, a fond look washing over her face. "As long as I always found this, I would always remember you."

"…you handed me to your husband on a tight, little leash Shizuru."

"I did not." Shizuru choked out, and for all her grace, she looked much like a child at the moment. "The night…that night, the one we had planned, he had found out about it Natsuki, he had found out about us."

Natsuki narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe you."

"I learned afterwards…I was such a fool. Natsuki, I wasn't the only one with something to hide." Shizuru smiled. "Not including you, of course."

Natsuki mulled over this new piece of information while biting her lower lip. "Then why didn't he just tell the town?"

Shizuru wiped her wet cheeks dry and laughed. "Oh, you must not remember everything yet. That man valued his family name more than anything. If the town knew what his wife of two weeks was doing and what she was then…."

"…then his name would've been marred forever." Natsuki muttered. "Even more so, the townspeople might have even killed him, and burned his estate to the ground."

"Natsuki was his scapegoat." Shizuru turned her eyes to the dark gardens, away from Natsuki and the house. "That night, I…I thought we had time, Natsuki, I did." Her voice wavered. "But then he came and took you away…."

Natsuki delved into her old memories, all glossy with a red haze. She remembers when they took her away…right after a particularly heated moment.

"Oh my, Natsuki is thinking dirty thoughts, and at such a time as this."

Natsuki snapped out of her thoughts and noticed the heat on her cheeks. "I was not." Shizuru smiled warmly and Natsuki bit her lower lip to stop herself from doing the same. "That's why they thought I was…attacking you."

Shizuru nodded. "I figured as much as well. Not only did he get the fame from capturing a witch, but also the praise of saving his wife while he did so."

"Why didn't you say anything? You could have had all of them…something –in seconds." Natsuki furrowed her eyebrows. "We—you could have still escaped."

Shizuru shook her head, her hair swaying as she did so. "Natsuki forgets. He wasn't much of a human either." She held up her hand and showed her wrist, where a small grey mark in her skin festered. "My parents think this as a birthmark. I've had this in every life since then."

Natsuki frowned. "He did something to you."

"I couldn't move, couldn't speak. Not until he told me to anyways." A lone tear slid down her cheek, and Natsuki moved to brush it away. "I managed to contact Juliet though. She agreed to put your…remains to rest, properly."

"Juliet? But, she…you…. I thought—"

"We did, and probably still do, though I haven't met her here yet." Shizuru took Natsuki's hands and held them in her own, and the dark haired girl let her. "But she cared for Natsuki."

Natsuki waded around her muddled mind, the red haze dispersing, slowly, finally. "What happened to you then?"

"I killed myself."

Natsuki flinched in alarm and stared at Shizuru with widened eyes. "What?!"

Shizuru smiled and took a step closer. "Not that I hadn't entertained the thought, but it was months later. I was kept, commanded to play a good little wife. I tried many times to break his hold over me, but whatever he had done was a physical enchantment and not a mental one…. I could not break it."

"Then….then how?"

Shizuru smirked. "How indeed. The fool got into a skirmish between a rival business partner and was severely wounded. His hold weakened, but I could still feel it. It was during that time that I—"

"Killed yourself?"

"—made sure I would never forget what happened." Shizuru squeezed Natsuki's hands, and the girl felt the silver laying in between them. "I made it so. No matter where I would go, this would follow; no matter which life I was in, I would always remember and try to find my way back to you."

Natsuki opened her mouth but only air came out. She closed it, and opened it again. "Why didn't you escape?"

"Life without Natsuki isn't life at all."

Natsuki blushed and lowered her head, eyeing their clasped hands. Shizuru had said that many times in the past.

"And while his hold had weakened, it was not lifted. I knew that he would simple recover and command me to return."

"So you stayed."

"I stayed. And it was then that he found no need for me. Simply put, he gave me one last order, and that was to kill myself. He didn't tell me how though." Shizuru smirked. "So I had a bit of creative freedom."

Natsuki nodded, a sick feeling of anger and pain mixing in her stomach.

"He probably came home hours later and made a big parade out of it."

"You don't remember?"

"How could I?"

"So you…looked for me? Afterwards?"

Shizuru laughed and Natsuki smiled because of it. The taller girl puller at her and Natsuki let her, sighing and breathing in her scent as she did so. I definitely remember this. Natsuki thought, and she rested her head on Shizuru's shoulder.

"I did. I can recall my lives before the pendant and after. I came back here, during every one and searched for you." Shizuru rested her head on Natsuki's. "I met versions of others from that time—all with new personas, but the same in a way. In one life, I never saw anyone. I was a cancer patient at the time, so I didn't have to wait very long for the next life."

"…Where was I?"

"Trying to make some kind of peace in the After probably. I wish you could have done so sooner if that's the case." Shizuru nuzzled into Natsuki's dark blue hair. "I was so shocked to see you earlier."

Natsuki smirked. She had forgotten that the whole of this happened in one night and during Halloween too. "No wonder I'm so tired. You had me running ragged all night."

"I only had tonight." Shizuru giggled, and then sighed. "My parents have me running all over the world, learning the ins and outs of the family business."

"You don't like it?"

"I much prefer it over some of the other things my families have made me do."

"Ah." Natsuki wasn't sure if she wanted Shizuru to elaborate.

"Besides, my father recently sent me a beautiful silver pendant from a strange little town…kind of like this one."

"Oh?"

"Hm."

A brief silence fell on them. Questions began to bubble in Natsuki's mind and while she loathed doing it, she broke from Shizuru's warm embrace and took a step back.

"Natsuki?"

"Shizuru…what do we do from here?"

"…'do from here?'"

Natsuki swallowed and nodded. "You, me…what do we do from here?"

Shizuru blinked and blinked again. "I…don't understand."

"Shizuru, we're not the same people as we were before. Similar, but still different. I—we don't know anything about each other."

Shizuru hummed and then smiled widely. "How about a date."

"Ha?"

The brown hair girl nodded and then pulled on Natsuki's hand, leading her to the mansion's forgotten door. "Natsuki promised me a date earlier."

Natsuki stammered, red sweeping across her face. "I did not!"

"Natsuki did."

"You're not listening!"

Shizuru laughed and pulled Natsuki inside, where the warm air greeted them. "You must introduce me to your friends and family, as a proper girlfriend should."

"Girlfriend? Shizuru you said we were only going on a date!"

"Oh my, I would love to."

Love to what? Went through Natsuki's mind a second before a pair of soft lips landed on her own. Oh. Her lips (and tongue and teeth) acted on their own accord and when Shizuru broke their contact she leaned over to reinitiate it.

Shizuru smiled and licked her lips, but she tilted her head away from the other, and was met with a dazed scowl. "Natsuki remembers now? Natsuki knows now?"

Natsuki blinked and then smirked. She slowly stepped towards Shizuru, leading her into a side room. "No, it's all still a bit hazy." She did a quick swept of the empty room with her eyes. "I'm sure you can help me though." And then kicked the door shut.

---

End.

Lol, why do these chapters keep getting longer? First one=roughly 2000 words, second one=roughly 3000 words, fourth one=roughly 4000 words. Dx Oh well, the deed is done, and I'm not elaborating any more. ;) Although…you can send me a PM if you have any remaining confusion about the story, a small 'sorry' if you will for taking so long. Don't expect a straight answer though. xD


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